A Bit Of Light Reading.

[bruce86]

Hi guys was after some advice. Im wanting to buy some books on homebrewing to get my knowledge up. Have read some reviews on some book with various responses abouit if they are any good. Being a beginner i was going to go for the For Dummies one any other ones i should keep an eye out for?

cheers

 

[bunyips]

Hi guys was after some advice. Im wanting to buy some books on homebrewing to get my knowledge up. Have read some reviews on some book with various responses abouit if they are any good. Being a beginner i was going to go for the For Dummies one any other ones i should keep an eye out for?

cheers

Hey Bud... Before you go buying books have a look at some of the airlocked threads in the forums. The amount of information on this site is extensive and the help that you will receive from the very knowledgable brewers on here if you ask politely is excellent. So have a look around and get your head around the different types of brewing systems and then make a few decisions based on want you want and what you can afford before you start brewing
Cheers

 

[J Grimmer]

How to Brew, John Palmer, the online edition is free.

Radical Brewing, Randy Mosher

Brewing Classic Styles, Jamil


I have found not a lot of book shops keep them on hand but you can order them through the online stores.

 

[dcx3]

Bruce it depends what youre after.

 

[drtomc]

The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian is a classic. It's a fun, enthusiastic read. Some of the information is a bit dated, but it is an easy read.

If you kind of know the basics, Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher is also a fun read. I've tried a couple of the interesting and unsual things, and they haven't always worked as he describes, so I'm not sure he has tested all the things he suggests. Still, it contains lots of interesting history and perspective.

If you're in to Belgian beer at all, Brew Like a Monk and Farmhouse Ales are both excellent books with lots of good context and history as well as good technical information.

I'm currently half way through Gordon Strong's Brewing Better Beer. It's good, but I'd wait till you've done a few AG brews before getting too far in to it.

I have not read any of Jamil Zainasheff's books, so I'll leave it to others to recommend them.

T.

 

[bruce86]

Wow that was super fast cheers. Bunyips: i am already brewing just kits atm will prob stick with it for a while have checked some of these threads out and still combing through the site. you are right so much great stuff on here just after something i can take with me as the computer is quite a lot heavier than a book . Grimmer: thanks will def put them on my list

 

[Bribie G]

The books listed are American, if you want something to balance that out, try Brew Your Own British Real Ales by Graham Wheeler (from the Book Depository UK) very reasonably priced and excellent general information. I often think that some forum members should get together and write a book for general publication, we could probably do a good job of it.

 

[bruce86]

The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian is a classic. It's a fun, enthusiastic read. Some of the information is a bit dated, but it is an easy read.

If you kind of know the basics, Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher is also a fun read. I've tried a couple of the interesting and unsual things, and they haven't always worked as he describes, so I'm not sure he has tested all the things he suggests. Still, it contains lots of interesting history and perspective.

If you're in to Belgian beer at all, Brew Like a Monk and Farmhouse Ales are both excellent books with lots of good context and history as well as good technical information.

I'm currently half way through Gordon Strong's Brewing Better Beer. It's good, but I'd wait till you've done a few AG brews before getting too far in to it.

I have not read any of Jamil Zainasheff's books, so I'll leave it to others to recommend them.

T.

Love belguim beer. will def try and get a copy of Brew Like a Monk (is it mostly all grain brewing but cuz im prob a little way off making that leap yet)

 

[bunyips]

The books listed are American, if you want something to balance that out, try Brew Your Own British Real Ales by Graham Wheeler (from the Book Depository UK) very reasonably priced and excellent general information. I often think that some forum members should get together and write a book for general publication, we could probably do a good job of it.

That really is an awesome idea Bribie... an all Australian Guide to Brewing from Kits to Ag! Bags Buckets and Braumisers

 

[keifer33]

The books listed are American, if you want something to balance that out, try Brew Your Own British Real Ales by Graham Wheeler (from the Book Depository UK) very reasonably priced and excellent general information. I often think that some forum members should get together and write a book for general publication, we could probably do a good job of it.

Someone is already onto it...remembered seeing this a while ago

http://www.beerloversguide.com.au/handbook.php

 

[Mercs Own]

Of course Cooking With Beer is a pretty good book to have and peruse through for a couple of very good reasons 1. you can work out how to use your home brew in a creative and fulfulling way 2. you can enjoy some excellent snacks on your brewing day and 3. it will inspire you to make various styles of beer so you can cook the recipes in the book!

I quite like Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels as an interesting reference point.

 

[ashley_leask]

I got "How to Brew", "Brewing Classic Styles" and "Designing Great Beers" in my first book run. All three very good, and quite complementary as well.

 

[Dave70]

Brew Like a Monk.

You'll be mortified to learn some of the most prestigious ales you can think of use malt extract and liquid hops in their recipes.

Then realize the frustration (futility) of trying to clone a beer brewed using a yeast strain that's been tweaked and passed from monk to monk for hundreds of years.

Don't let that put you off though. Its a good read.

 

[sim]

+1 to complete joy of homebrewing. I reackon people who dont drink beer could enjoy reading that book, beginner to advanced. It is american yes but the author has such a great attitude ...man knows how to chill man.

 

[benno1973]

The Complete Guide To Home Brewing In Australia by Laurie Strachan is a great read, not mentioned yet.
Both of Charlie Papazian's books are excellent, at varying levels of skill.
Both these books are easy reads and get you fired up about brewing.

Jamil's 'Brewing Classic Styles' is great for brewing to style, and 'Radical Brewing' then teaches you how to break all those rules.

And Palmer's 'How to Brew' is an excellent reference for the technical side.

If I had to choose three books now, it'd be How to Brew, Brewing Classic Styles and Radical brewing.
If I had to choose three books for a beginner it'd be both of Papazian's books, and Palmer's 'How to Brew'

 

[stux]

The Complete Guide to Beer and Brewing by Laurie Strachan, is a great book for an aussie beginner brewer.

(I've given this as presents twice... and the recipients have eventually raved to me about the books... after they forgot who gave them the book )

Once you get a bit more into it, How To Brew by John Palmer is a good step up... but may overwhelm you if you read it first

Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels is awesome if you want to make your own recipes later. Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainasheff is good if you just want a bunch of recipes for inspiration (both extract and all-grain versions of each recipe)

And then, if you want to get into various styles there are style specific books

"Yeast", is meant to be great, will let you know after Christmas

 

[felten]

Yeast by zainasheff and white, great book that can only improve your brewing process.

 

[Ryan WABC]

Yeast by zainasheff and white, great book that can only improve your brewing process.

+1

Reading it at the moment.

 

[jpScarfac3]

Yeast by zainasheff and white, great book that can only improve your brewing process.

+1 Turns your average brews into top brews!

 

[np1962]

Of course Cooking With Beer is a pretty good book to have and peruse through for a couple of very good reasons 1. you can work out how to use your home brew in a creative and fulfulling way 2. you can enjoy some excellent snacks on your brewing day and 3. it will inspire you to make various styles of beer so you can cook the recipes in the book!

I quite like Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels as an interesting reference point.

4. Merc gets a few cents from every copy sold.